Pallet rack



Feb. 14, 1967 K. MCCONNELL PALLET RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 9, 1,964

99099 PD 099900 QQ Q MMP.

Feb. 14, 1967 K. MCCONNELL PALLET RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet I3 Filed Sept. O, 1964 INVENTOR. .IZMM'MZ BY l x v United States Patent() 3,303,937 PALLET RACK Kennedy McConnell, Riverdale, lll., assigner to lnteriake Steel Corporation, a corporationof New York Filed Sept. 9, 1964. Ser. No. 395,135 8 Claims. (Cl. 211-148) This invention relates to the art of support structures, particularly to a colla-psible shelf structure adapted for supporting lpalletized loads, of a type commonly referred to as a pallet rack.

The use of pallets or skids secured as supports for loads of all varities of materials has been on the increase in recent years. The skid or Ipallet not only supports the load, but it permits the forks olf a litt truck to -be inserted below it in order to allow the palletized load to be conveniently transported from place to place as required. Due to the increased `use of .palletized loads, a definite need arose for a supporting structure which can support a maximum number of palletized loads in a minimum space at a minimum cost.

Structures for this purpose have been developed. They are generally in the `form of vertical upright members joined together 'by horizontal side to side and front to back members which form an open type skeletal structure. The vertical members are lmade long enough to support the horizontal members at vertically spaced intervals to provide a multi-tiered structure for supporting palletized loads at different stacked levels. Also, the vertical members are spaced horizontally rfrom each other lby calculated amounts to establish bays of given length to accommodate a given number of palletized loads in a row without waste of space on the pallet rack structure. Within reason, the structures can be made of any length and any height depending 'upon the particular storage space available.

The principal lfeatures of importance in a pallet rack structure are ease of assembly and disassembly, speed of assembly and disassembly, rigidity of the completed structure against accidental impact, and stability of the completed structure against accidental disassembly.

Accordingly, pallet rack structures, as conventionally provided, are comprised of two basic components, vertical supports or uprights and horizontal beams which are connected thereto. The connections between the beams and uprights are by anged lugs or attachment posts projecting from vertical end plates that are fixed on the ibeams to make contact with the uprights along two different planes. The attachment posts may easily be engagedin slanted key hole slots in the uprights as the beams are located in bridging relation ybetween the uprights.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a removable one-piece spring clip lock mounted on an end plate and engageable with a corresponding upright to provide a safety means -or preventing accidental removal of the beam from its mounted position on the upright.

Another object is the provision of a removable onepiece spring clip lock that may be preassernbled to the beam end plate during shipment and storage so that the lock is not a loose part in the usual sense.

Still another object is the provision ott a removable one-piece spring clip Ilock mountable on a Vbeam end plate rportion that overlies and exposed face of an upright to locate the lock in a position to improve the overall frame rigidity and to facilitate a visual check of its proper engagement.

While loose parts are avoided wherever possible, one advantage of a removableone-piece lock in accordance with the present invention, resides in the tact that it is easily replaceable. Thus, it is lleasible 'to mount it in rice an exposed position to guarantee easy visual checking of its engagement.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lock cooperating only between the upright and end late so that :beam variations in size and width and cross sectional shape do not atleet the lock structure, the lock mounting, or the lock action. j

Other objects and `disadvantages orr the invention should be apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l shows a perspective view of a partially cut away pallet rack structure embodying the lfeatures of this invention;

FIG. 2 shows a partially cut away enlarged perspective view of a portion of the pallet rack structure of FIG.A 1 showing the region of connection between the end of a lbeam and an upright;

FEiG. 3 shows an enlarged ypartially cut away and sectional elevation view of a beam connected to an upright;

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged sectional View along the line 4 4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a preferred form of spring clip Vlock in association with an end plate in accordance with this invention.

As viewed in FIG. l, a typical support structure or pallet rack 1 consists of a pair of ladder shaped upright frames 2 and 3 spaced apart from each other and joined together by means of horizontal beams 4, 5, 6 and 7. These beams are joined at their ends to the `upright frames 2 and 3 in a manner hereinafter described. The upright `frame 2 is also joined to the ends of other horizontal beams 8, 9, 10 and 11, which, although not shown, exten-d to an additional spaced upright frame similar to frames 2 and 3. IIn this manner the entire pallet rack 1 can be made any length required. lust as the beams S, 9, 1t) and 11 extend :from the yframe 2, other beams can extend in the opposite direction from the frame 3 so that the pallet rack can be extended in length in either direction.

Each of the upright frames 2 and 3 consist of a trout upright 12 and a rear upright 13 joined together by horizontal front to back members 14 and 15 and diagonal `braces 1:5 and 17. Naturally the lengths of the members 14, 15, 16 and 17 can be appropriately cut to space the uprights 12 and 13 as `far apart as necessary to provide the `proper span between the liront beams 4 and 5 and the rear beams 6 and 7. Also, the uprights 12 and 13 can be .made as tall as necessary in order to accommodate the required vertical spacing of the horizontal beams, as well as to permit positioning of as lmany vertically spaced beams as desired. Also, additional members similar to 14, 15, 16 and 17 can be added to provide sufficient rigidity and strength.

With the structure as shown in FIG. l, the beams 5 and 6 provide a span across which pallets or other articles can spari so that the .beams act as their support at an upper level. Similarly, the beams 4 and 7 provide a spanned support lfor pallets or other objects at a lower level. A pallet 18 is shown sup-ported 'by the beams 4 and 7 and also a board 19. If continuous shelving is required so that objects will not 'fail through the spanned opening between the beams, a plurality of boards 19 `can be .positioned side by side along the beams to provide a continuous uninterrupted support for various shapesand sizes of objects.

The lfront to yback members 14 and 15 and diagonal braces 16 and 17 are preferably welded at their ends to the upright 12 and 13 in order to provide the completed ladder-shaped upright frames 2 and 3. This enables the frames 2 and 3 to be shipped as integral units, thus saving erection time and also insuring a rigid structure which might not be obtained if nuts and lbolts or other fastening means are used to secure these members together.

Each of the uprights 12 and 13 are provided with two rows of first mounting openings extending along the entire length of the front walls 21 of the uprights. The openings 20 are equally spaced from each other by a fixed increment. Each of the uprights 12 and 13 may also be provided with a row of equally spaced openings 22 along opposite side walls 23 and 24 of the uprights though these openings 22 are not utilized in the invention as disclosed herein. These side walls 23 and 24 are positioned parallel to each other and are connected therebetween by the front wall 21 which forms the upright into a channel shape. The side walls 23 and 24 are provided with flanges 25 and 26 which extend toward each other in a plane parallel to the front wall 21 of the upright. The flanges 25 and 26, the side walls 23 and 24 and the front wall 21 together provide a flanged channel-shaped upright with four corners 27, 28, 29 and 30 which impart column strength and rigidity to the uprights.

Even though different number designations have been given to the horizontal beams, they are all identical in structure and can be used interchangeably as front or back beams by merely rotating them 180 end to end in a horizontal plane.

Each horizontal beam 6 is welded at each of its ends to one wall 34 of a corresponding L-shaped end plate 35. The other wall 36 of each end plate 35 is provided with two inwardly extending attachment posts 37 for concurrent reception and confinement in a pair of the mounting openings 20. Each post 37 has a shank 37S and an enlarged head 37H (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

In order to assemble a horizontal beam 6 to an upright 12 or 13, the beam is extended horizontally and its L-shaped end plate is brought to bear against the front wall 21 and a side wall 23 or 24 of the upright. In order to do this, the posts 37 on the end plate 35 are aligned to pass through the mounting openings 20 in the upright. These openings 20 are preferably generally keyhole-shaped, having an enlarged circular upper release region 20A intersecting a narrow elongated lower retainer region 20B which preferably is slightly canted toward the center of the upright. Having two rows of these holes 20, the effect is that these elongated retainer regions 20B are canted or sloped toward each other. Also, a hole 20 in one row is positioned immediately opposite a hole 20 in the adjacent row. Since there is equal spacing between all of the mounting openings 20, each is positioned with another immediately adjacent to it laterally. The enlarged circular release region 20A is of a diameter larger t than the diameter of the circular head 37H of the post 37 so that the post 37 can freely fit through it. The shank 37S of the post is slightly smaller than the width of the elongated retainer region 20B so that the post can be dropped down into the retainer region 20B after its head has been passed through the circular release region 20A. Because of the particular dimensions of the end plate 35 and the positions of the posts 37 carried thereon, as the posts of the end plate slide down the incline of the elongated release regions 20B of the mounting openings 20, the wall 34 of the end plate is brought to bear tightly against a side wall of the upright. These posts 37 therefore provide bearing support for the horizontal beam 6 along the plane of the front wall 21 of the upright 13. By drawing the wall 34 of the end plate 35 snugly against the side wall 23, this provides a fairly rigid connection between the horizontal beam 6 and the upright 13.

ln accordance with this invention, each end plate 35 is provided with a removable one-piece spring clip lock designated generally at 41. For this purpose, each mounting plate has its front vertical wall 36 provided with a pair of holes 42 and 43 smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of the mounting openings 20 on the upright when the mounting plate 35 is supported from the upright by the action of the posts 37. In the preferred form, the

upper of these mounting plate holes 42 is of inverted keyhole shape while the lower one 43 is round. The lock 41 is -comprised of an elongated sheet metal clip body 44 having a pair of studs and 46 carried in rigid relation thereon to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of the clip body. The shorter stud 45 terminates in an enlarged head 45H enterable through the wide region of the keyhole 42 in the mounting plate and then shiftable into the narrow region of this keyhole 42 to engage such enlarged head 45H behind plate edge portions that border and define the narrow region of this hole. The longer stud 46 is arranged to be enterable through the hole 43.

Thus, after the end plate 3S is engaged upon the upright in fully assembled relationship to support the beam by the action of the attachment posts 37, the lock 41 is applied to the end plate wall 36 by first engaging only its shorter stud 45 in the keyhole 42 in the fashion just described. For this purpose the remote end of the clip body 44 is swung to a position as illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 3 wherein it does not overlie the end plate wall 36 such that its longer stud 46 does not interfere with the insertion of its short stud 45 into the keyhole. The clip body 44, preferably being of spring steel to enable a resilient bending action, may thereafter be manually deformed to a bowed configuration such as is illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 4 lto permit establishment of clearance between the long stud 46 and the end plate face for enabling rotation of the clip body 44 about an axis defined by the engagement of the short stud 45 within the keyhole 42. The clip is then rotated until the long stud 46 registers with the lower hole 43. At this point the clip body 44 may be released to permit the long stud 46 to enter the hole 43 and project into the corresponding upright mounting opening 20 with which the hole 46 is in registry.

It will he apparent from a consideration of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 that the spring clip lock 41 automatically remains in its installed position and cannot be removed therefrom except by reversely bending or bowing the clip body to withdraw the long stud 46 from its mounting hole 43. The clearance existing between the long stud 46 and its end plate `hole 43 is limited to an amount that insures against escape of the short stud 45 from the retaining region of the mounting plate keyhole.

In the preferred form of spring clip lock, the short stud 45 is spaced substantially from the corresponding end of the clip body to define a clip body ltail portion 44T having a smoothly curving contour for establishing broad surfaced bearing contact with the exterior face of the mounting plate wall 36 to enable easy rotation of the clip body about the axis of the stud 45. The portion 44T is connected to the clip body 44 by means of a curved portion 44S of opposite curvature 'to that of the portion 44T. Whereas the portion 44T provides the surface bearing Contact, as mentioned, with the exterior face of the mounting plate wall 36, the curved portion 44S provides a region of the spring clip lock 41 spaced away from the wall 36 which facilitates manipulation of the spring clip lock 41.

An important feature of the spring clip lock is that in its mounted position upon the end plate wall 36, the lock 41 prevents disassembly of the beam 6 from the upright 13. Accidental `disassembly of a beam from an upright can occur when a worker is manipulating a fork lift truck for arranging pallet loads on the pallet rack structure. It is conceivable that the forks of the lift truck might accidentally be positioned beneath one of the beams, whereupon sudden operation of the forks of the truck in an upward direction could disassemble a beam if it were retained only by the action of the posts 37. This possibility is prevented by the lock 41 of this invention. It will be noted that the longer stud 46 carried on the clip body 44 projects into the mounting opening 20 of the upright in suflicient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage the upright and thereby limit vertical movement of the end plate and beam prior to the time that the attachment posts 37 can shift free of retained engagement in the mounting openings of the upright. Where the lock functions in this manner to prevent such accidental disassembly of the pallet rack structure, the force to which the lock is subject consists only of shear loading on the longer stud 46 and the clip body 44 is itself free of any substantial loading.

There is particular advantage in the fact that the spring clip lock 41 is located in an exposed mounted position upon the end plate. It thus becomes extremely simple to check visually and determine that the lock is in place and is properly positioned in flush relation which it can assume only when its studs are fully entered through the mounting plate. The registry of the holes 42 and 43 in the mounting plate with respect to the mounting openings 2t) in the upright also insures that `when the lock is ush against the end plate wall 36, its stud 46 projects into the upright in position for immediate engagement in the event of upward forces being applied to the beam.

Another important feature resides in the fact that the lock is mounted to the end plate and, as such, is completely independent of the beam construction. This enables maximum standardization in the main components of the pallet rack structure.

While the lock 41 is separate of the upright and beam, it is not subject to becoming lost or mislaid as in the case of most loose parts, as it has a natural storage location on the end plate so that it will be present and ready when the pallet rack structure is to be assembled. In addition, the fact that it is a one-piece removable element makes replacement easy in the event of damage to the lock, and this can be an important asset as compared with permanently mounted locks which cannot be replaced except by major reconstruction or repair of the beam.

Although only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it should be clearly understood that the invention can be made in many different ways without departing from the true scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A combination of an upright having one vertical wall provided with a plurality of vertically spaced keyhole mounting openings, a mounting plate having one vertical wall provided with spaced attachment posts for concurrent reception and confinement in a pair of said mounting openings, each post having a shank and an enlarged head and being engaged by passing its head into a mounting opening and then shifting its head transl versely behind wall portions bordering said opening, said mounting plate having a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said mounting openings when said mounting plate is supported from said upright by the action of said posts, and a removable one-piece spring clip lock for securing said mounting plate against dislodgment from said upright by limiting upward movement of said posts relative to said upright, said lock cornprising a unitary element having first means received and confined in swingable relation in one of said holes and having second means for entry through the other hole upon swinging movement of said element about said rst means, with said second means projecting into said registering mounting opening in sucient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage said upright and limit vertical movement of said mounting plate before said posts shift free of said upright.

2. A combination of an upright having one vertical wall provided with a plurality of vertically spaced keyhole mounting openings, a mounting plate having one vertical wall provided with spaced attachment posts for concurrent reception and confinement in a pair of said mounting openings, each post having a shank and an enlarged head and being engaged by passing its head into a mounting opening and then shifting its head transversely behind wall edge portions bordering said opening, said mounting plate having a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said mounting openings when said mounting plate is supported from said upright by the action of said posts, and a removable spring clip lock for securing said mounting plate against dislodgment from said upright by limiting upward movement of said posts relative to said upright, said lock comprising an elongated sheet metal clip body and a pair of studs carried in rigid relation on said body to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of said body, one of said studs terminating in an enlarged head entered into one of said holes and then shifted transversely behind plate edge portions bordering said one hole, and said clip body being resiliently bendable to permit establishment of clearance between said other stud and said plate for enabling rotation of said body about said one stud until said other stud registers with and enters said other hole to project into said registering mounting opening in sufficient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage said upright and limit vertical movement of said plate before said posts shift free of said upright.

3. A combination of an upright -having one vertical wall provided with a plurality of vertically spaced mounting openings each having an enlarged upper release region and a reduced lower retainer region, a mounting plate having one vertical wall provided lwith spaced attachment posts for concurrent reception and connement in a pair of said mounting openings, each post having a shank and an enlarged head and being engaged by passing its head through the release region and thereafter fitting its shank within the retainer region of its corresponding opening, said mounting plate having a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said mounting openings when said mounting plate is supported from said upright by the action of said posts, and la removable one-piece spring clip lock for securing said mounting plate against dislodgment from said upright by limiting upward movement of said posts relative to said upright, said lock comprising a unitary element having rst means received and confined in swingable relation in one of said holes and having second means for entry through the other hole upon swinging movement of said element about said first means, with said second means thereafter reacting against said 4plate to x said lock relative to said plate and said second means projecting into said registering mounting opening in sufficient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage said upright and limit vertical movement of said plate before said posts shift free of said upright.

4. A removable spring clip lock for use in a supporting structure comprising an elongated sheet metal clip body and a pair of studs carried in rigid relation on said body to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of said body, one of said studs terminating in an enlarged head adapated for movement axially and then laterally to establish freely rotatable retained engagement within a keyhole slot provided in a cooperating mounting plate for said lock, and said clip body being resiliently bendable to permit establishment of axial clearance between said other stud and the mounting plate for enabling rotation of said clip body about said one stud until said other stud registers with and enters a corresponding opening provided in said cooperating mounting plate.

5. A removable spring clip lock for use in a supporting structure comprising an elongated sheet metal clip body and a pair of studs carried in rigid relation on said body to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of said body, one of said studs terminating in an enlarged head adapted for movement axially and then laterally to establish freely rotatable retained engagement with a keyhole slot provided in a cooperating mounting plate for said lock, and said clip 7 body being resiliently bendable to permit establishment of axial clearance between said other stud and the mounting plate for enabling rotation of said clip body about said one stud until said other stud registers with and enters a corresponding hole provided in said cooperating mounting plate, said one stud being spaced substantially from a corresponding end of said body to define a tail portion that establishes broad surfaced bearing contact with said plate during rotation of said body.

6. A Combination of an upright having one vertical face provided with a plurality of vertically spaced keyhole mounting openings, a mounting plate having one vertical face provided with attachment posts having heads and spaced vertically for concurrent engagement in a pair of said mounting openings, said mounting plate having a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said first named mounting openings when said mounting plate is supported from said upright by the action of said posts, and a removable one-piece spring clip lock for securing said mounting plate against dislodgment from said upright, said lock comprising an elongated sheet metal clip body and a pair of studs carried in rigid relation on said body to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of said body, one of said studs terminating in an enlarged head adapted for movement axially and then laterally to establish freely rotatable retained engagement with one of said holes in said mounting plate, and said clip body being resiliently bendable to permit establishment of axial clearance between said other stud and the mounting plate for enabling rotation of said clip body about said one stud until said other stud registers with and enters the other hole provided in said cooperating mountplate, said one stud being spaced substantially from a corresponding end of said body to define a tail portion that establishes broad surfaced bearing Contact with said plate during rotation of said body.

7. In a pallet rack comprised of spaced uprights, hori- Zontal beams bridged between adjacent uprights and equipped with end plates removably engaged in supported relation on said uprights by means of headed posts carried on said endplates and each retained in generally upright keyhole slots in the corresponding upright, the improvement comprising a separate removable one-piece spring clip lock for securing each mounting plate against dislodgment from its corresponding upright by limiting upward movement of said posts relative to said upright, wherein each plate has a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said keyhole slots when such plate is supported from an upright by the action of said posts, said lock comprising a unitary element having first means received and confined in swingable relation in one of said holes and having second means for entry through the other hole upon swinging movement of said element about said first means, with said second means thereafter reacting against said plate to fix said lock relative to said plate and said second means projecting into said registering keyhole slot in sutiicient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage said upright and limit vertical movement of said plate before said posts shift free of said upright.

8. In a pallet rack comprised of spaced uprights, horizontal beams bridged between adjacent uprights and equipped with end plates removably engaged in supported relation on said uprights by means of headed posts carried on said endplates and each retained in generally upright keyhole slots in the corresponding upright, the improvement comprising a separate removable one-piece spring clip lock for securing each mounting plate against dislodgment from its corresponding upright by limiting upward movement of said posts relative to said upright, wherein each plate has a pair of holes smaller than and fully registrable with a pair of said keyhole slots when such plate is supported from an upright by the action of said posts, said lock comprising an elongated sheet metal clip body and a pair of studs carried in rigid relation on said body to project from a common face thereof at points spaced apart lengthwise of said body, one of said studs terminating in an enlarged head entered into one of said holes and then shifted transversely behind plate edge portions bordering said one hole, and said clip body being resiliently bendable to permit establishment of clearance between said other stud and said plate for enabling rotation of said body about said one stud until said other stud registers `with and enters said other hole to project into said registering keyhole slot in suicient proximity to upper edge regions thereof to engage said upright and limit vertical movement of said plate before said posts shift free of said upright.

References Cited by the Examiner UNTED STATES PATENTS 2,422,693 6/ 1947 McArthur 24-223 2,639,042 5/1953 Lambert 211-176 3,042,221 7/1962 Rasmussen 211-148 3,055,462 S/1962 Steele 189-36 3,152,670 10/1964 Selkregg 287-18936 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

7. IN A PALLET RACK COMPRISED OF SPACED UPRIGHTS, HORIZONTAL BEAMS BRIDGED BETWEEN ADJACENT UPRIGHTS AND EQUIPPED WITH END PLATES REMOVABLY ENGAGED IN SUPPORTED RELATION ON SAID UPRIGHTS BY MEANS OF HEADED POSTS CARRIED ON SAID ENDPLATES AND EACH RETAINED IN GENERALLY UPRIGHT KEYHOLE SLOTS IN THE CORRESPONDING UPRIGHT, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A SEPARATE REMOVABLE ONE-PIECE SPRING CLIP LOCK FOR SECURING EACH MOUNTING PLATE AGAINST DISLODGMENT FROM ITS CORRESPONDING UPRIGHT BY LIMITING UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID POSTS RELATIVE TO SAID UPRIGHT, WHEREIN EACH PLATE HAS A PAIR OF HOLES SMALLER THAN AND FULLY REGISTRABLE WITH A PAIR OF SAID KEYHOLE SLOTS WHEN SUCH PLATE IS SUPPORTED FROM AN UPRIGHT BY THE ACTION OF SAID POSTS, SAID LOCK COMPRISING A UNITARY ELEMENT HAVING FIRST MEANS RECEIVED AND CONFINED IN SWINGABLE RELATION IN ONE OF SAID HOLES AND HAVING SECOND MEANS FOR ENTRY THROUGH THE OTHER HOLE UPON SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENT ABOUT SAID FIRST MEANS, WITH SAID SECOND MEANS THEREAFTER REACTING AGAINST SAID PLATE TO FIX SAID LOCK RELATIVE TO SAID PLATE AND SAID SECOND MEANS PROJECTING INTO SAID REGISTERING KEYHOLE SLOT IN SUFFICIENT PROXIMITY TO UPPER EDGE REGIONS THEREOF TO ENGAGE SAID UPRIGHT AND LIMIT VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE BEFORE SAID POSTS SHIFTS FREE OF SAID UPRIGHT. 